Crazy world of minigolf: Waterfalls, wooden heads, a 50-foot volcano

Teen queen of crazy golf – Olivia Prokopova is the young star of minigolf. The Czech 18-year-old has won two Masters titles -- giving her more green jackets than Tiger Woods had at the same age.

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Presidential seal of approval – Minigolf is a popular family activity, even in the the White House -- here the Obamas take to the course in 2010. Families all over the world enjoy playing a game which gets them outdoors and, unlike conventional golf, doesn't take all day to finish.

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Golf for girls? – These women are seen playing in 1930, but minigolf dates back to 1867 -- when the Royal and Ancient Golf Club sought to deter females from playing the "unladylike" full version of the game.

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Hawaiian Rumble – Minigolf courses evolved to include obstacles, and now we have fantastical structures like the Hawaiian Rumble course in Myrtle Beach, home of the smaller game's Masters.

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Explosive action – The Hawaiian Rumbles' main attraction is a 50-foot volcano, which erupts with fire and lava every 20 minutes.

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Water hazard – Waterfalls and palm trees also line the course, which Bob Detwiler opened in 1992.

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Prokopova power – Detwiler is pictured here with Prokopova, who won her second Masters title at his course this year.

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Happy Klapper – Prokopova also won the Masters in 2012, but the previous year she was beaten in a three-hole playoff by Jay Klapper (pictured).

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Story highlights

The minigolf Masters takes place annually at the Hawaiian Rumble course

Czech teenager Olivia Prokopova has won the tournament in each of the last two years

The event was started by Robert Detwiler, founder of the U.S. Pro Minigolf Federation

Some 38,000 registered players compete in tournaments all over the world

It's the putt all golfers want to be stood over. The final hole of a Masters weekend, find the cup and the coveted green jacket is yours.

Your heart is racing, your palms sweaty, can you maintain your focus?

The contender surveys the scene, taking in the erupting volcano and giant wooden heads which line the Hawaiian Rumble course before delicately guiding her shot off a brick and into the hole.

No, not the Augusta National Country Club, but a minigolf course in Myrtle Beach.

Not Tiger Woods, but 18-year-old Olivia Prokopova, one of the world's leading minigolf players and a double Masters champion.

"I started playing as a three-year-old kid," the Czech told CNN.

"My dad worked as a sports reporter and he took me with him to an interview he did with a minigolf trainer. I tried to play there and really liked it. Apparently, I kept asking when we would go back to play more.

China's crazy fantasy golf course 11 photos

China's crazy fantasy golf course11 photos

Noodle delight – One of the signatures holes on a new fantasy course at Mission Hills in China will see players attempt to hit a green surrounded by a noodle-style hazard complete with chopsticks.

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Testing target – A view from the tee of the shot facing the golfer on the chopsticks and noodles hole.

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Another brick in the Wall – The Great Wall of China hole will provide a challenge with a difference for the golfers who play the new course.

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Wall chart – A sketch of the design work behind a hole on the course, in which a mock-up of the Great Wall of China is threaded throughout its entire length.

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Mayan magic – A par 5 on the new course is dedicated to the ancient Mayan civilization, but golfers will have their work cut out if they stray off the fairway.

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Panda power – One of the holes is dedicated to the most popular animal in China, the giant panda, and this sketch illustrates the design features.

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Panda-monium – Work is well under way on the hole named "Panda-monium" ahead of the course opening in 2014.

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Olympics remembered – The Birds Nest Stadium which hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics is the inspiration for one of the greens on the new course.

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Mission impossible? – This year the Mission Hills group hosted a World Golf Championship tournament, the HSBC Champions, on a bunker-laden course at its Shenzhen complex designed by former Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal. Ian Poulter is seen here on his way to winning the title.

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Sawgrass signature – Conventional golf tests such as the daunting 17th island hole at TPC Sawgrass in Florida often rely on water to provide the challenge with a small green to aim at.

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Golfing president – President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughter Sasha tried their hand at mini golf on a holiday in Florida in 2010.

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Minigolf, commonly referred to as crazy golf, originated in 1867 at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland.

With women at the time keen to play the conventional game, and the violent swinging action required to hit a drive deemed most unladylike, an 18-hole course of putting greens was built.

The rest, as they say, is history and 150 years later people from all over the world enjoy minigolf in a wide variety of locations on courses littered with tiny waterfalls and animatronic dinosaurs.

It might not be as famous or well-known as the full-size game -- "big golf," as Prokopova says -- but away from the fairways and bunkers of conventional courses is a hardcore community of players dedicated to golf's miniature cousin.

And none are more dedicated than Bob Detwiler, the founder of the U.S. Pro Minigolf Federation.

Detwiler opened the Hawaiian Rumble course in 1992 and decided to start holding tournaments. The first was the Masters in 1997, followed one year later by the U.S. Open.

While the former is always held at Detwiler's course, the latter annually switches location, mirroring the long-established traditions of golf's equivalent tournaments.

And the similarities have not been lost on those at Augusta National Golf Club, home since 1934 of what is now the season's opening major tournament.

"I've been called three of four times by the people at Augusta," explained Detwiler. "They said I was infringing on their name and stuff.

"I said, 'How can that be? There's the Masters of tennis, of marbles. You name it, there's a Masters of it.'

The Hawaiian Rumble course -- "our Augusta," boasts Detwiler -- annually attracts players from across the globe for the Masters, a tournament Prokopova has won in each of the last two years.

While Adam Scott took home $1.44 million for his Green Jacket success in April, minigolf's event has a total prize fund of just $12,000.

"The season is expensive," admits Prokopova. "Traveling to the U.S. is expensive. We usually go there three weeks to a month before a tournament.

"All prize money goes back into the travels, but I still need sponsors and my parents contribute to these trips."

Prokopova's commitment to the sport is unquestionable. Not only does she fly 4,500 miles to compete in the U.S., she is joined by an entourage including both of her parents, her coach and, if you believe Detwiler, even a masseuse.

"I was seven when I first traveled to the U.S. for a tournament," said Prokopova.

"The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. All the other players would stand around me and cheer, some of them screaming and jumping in the air."

Prokopova's fellow competitors tend to be middle-aged men who enjoy the heat of competition and the fraternity which comes with being an obscure sportsman.

However Detwiler admits that some find losing to a teenage girl difficult to take.

"They've known her since she was seven years old, so they all like her," said Detwiler.

"But at the same time they want to win too. And they don't like it when some girl beats them!"

But the response to Propokova is almost entirely positive, with America's minigolf courses a home away from home for the prodigy.

"When at a tournament, it really feels like we are one big family," said Prokopova. "We see each other regularly, at least twice a year, and we know each other. The players' community is very supportive, I don't feel much rivalry.